I took my children to Disney for the first time last November. We enjoyed every minute of it, but I learned from my mistakes.
Mistakes
1. Ordering everyone their own meal. My youngest was 4 at the time, so he and I could have easily split a meal. I wish I had saved that meal until we got back to the hotel, where I could have kept it refrigerated.
2. I brought a bag with me into the park. This was silly, since I knew we’d go home after a few hours to relax, before going back at night.
3. I booked fastpasses for my whole family for each ride, even though my husband doesn’t do roller coasters. This was a big mistake, because I had to wait for that FP time to pass before I could book him another FP.
4. I had the Disney Dining Plan and splurged on the cheesecakes and other treats at the hotel, thinking I had to get my dessert right away.
Good things
1. Disney has water fountains. We only carried our Disney mug in with us to skip the bag search line, but thanks to the fountains we still stayed hydrated.
2. We always took an afternoon break. The kids may not have napped, but they got swim time in. Just that 2-3hr break was enough for them to last each night for the fireworks show.
3. Talk to the Pros! Eventually my sister (who is a Disney Pro) told me what Sweets shop to go to so I could use up my snack dining credits. This was a BIG HELP. I would have gotten truffles all along!
(Thanks, Katrina!)